Our reading today is the first portion of a song that the Lord directed Moses to write and then teach the children of Israel, Deuteronomy 31:19 and 21. The fact that God directs Moses to write a song, which we will discuss in a moment, is evidence that the Lord will and does use music to teach His way to His people. I have long said that music is so much more than entertainment. It is for edification and exhortation, for the people of God.

Part of the heritage of Christianity is the music it has produced over the centuries. I am thinking especially of the time of the Reformation when the reformers would use music to teach the body of Christ those truths that came out of the Reformation. Men like Luther, Knox, the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, and many others.

These men would write songs containing doctrine, and then teach the people to sing these "truths" as the Reformers would travel to another location to teach. The Lord, of course, was the originator of this concept, using music to teach the children of Israel great truths, knowing that Moses would soon depart from this world.

This brings to our attention how important music is in our Christian experience. It is essential that we use and listen to music that has the right doctrine and to make sure that the "medium carrying the message" is consistent with the message and the Master who sent the message.

Now to the song's content - this is the message that the Lord wanted the Israelites to have before He would bring them into the "promised land". There is so much in this song we will have to visit it again in a future devotional but let's look at one phrase found in verse 8.

The Lord is teaching the Jewish people of the importance He places on these people that He chose to be a "special people" unto Himself, a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation". He tells Israel that when He divided the peoples of the world into nations, Genesis 10 and 11, He set the bounds, the borders of the nations, according to the number of the children of Israel.

Ezekiel, an ancient Jewish prophet, reveals the centrality of Jerusalem, Ezekiel 5:5. The Lord placed Jerusalem in the center of the earth with all the nations around the "holy city".

Notice that God did this according to the number of Jews there would be in the future because when God divided the peoples of the earth into nations there were no "children of Israel". Based upon His foreknowledge, God set the bounds for the nations.

God had a plan for the Jewish people. He has a plan today for His chosen people. But most important, He has a plan for the children of Israel in the future that will be played out.

The plan the Lord has for the Jewish people is found in the prophetic passages of the Bible. In the last days God will deal with these Jews that have been scattered around the world for 2,000 years.

He will "re-gather" the Jews and bring them into the land of their forefathers. They will be "restored" as a nation among the nations of the world. Then there will be a "terrible time of testing" for the Jews, the Tribulation, before Jesus, the Jewish Messiah", returns to Earth and to lead His "chosen people".

If you want to know where God is in His plan for the end times, you focus on the Jewish people. This is such an easy formula for all to live by in the last days. We simply must know God's plan for the Jews, stay abreast of what is happening with them and compare current events with Biblical prophecy to recognize where we are on His "time line" for the end of days.

PRAYER THOT: Help me, Lord, to see Your plan for this world unfolding as I watch Your "chosen people" today.

The passage chosen for our devotional reading today is what is referred to as the "Land Covenant". Maybe in the margin of your Bible or possibly above the first verse of our reading you find, as I do in my King James Scofield Reference Bible, the title of the covenant to be the "Palestinian Covenant".

That is not the title of the covenant, the word "Palestinian" is a man-made word that is a negative word introduced to the Jewish and Christian world in the second century by a Roman Emperor who named the land of Israel, "Palestine".

The Bible never calls the land that God gave to the Jewish people, "Palestine". The land is called "Israel". There has never been a land that God called "Palestine", the Lord calls the land "Israel", Matthew 2:20-21. Please do not refer to the land of Israel as "Palestine" but by it's true Biblical name, "Israel".

By the way, there was never an Arab state of "Palestine" that must be returned to the Palestinian people. From around 1500 AD until 1917 AD the Ottoman Empire, the empire of the nation of Turkey, controlled what is today, the land of Israel. The Turks ruled this land for over 400 years.

Then, until the United Nations gave the Jews this land in 1948, as a nation called Israel, the land was under the sovereignty of the British Empire. There has never been a state, an official government, for the state of "Palestine".

The truth is our devotional reading for today promises to give the "land" to the Jewish people. This "land covenant" includes all of the land that God has promised to the Jewish people, some ten times the amount of land that the Jews now control.

The total amount of land that the Jews will receive according to this covenant will be given to the Jews during the Kingdom period when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is ruling and reigning from his Temple in Jerusalem.

There will also be a time when the Jews will be brought back into the land of their forefathers, verse 5. The Jews will love the Lord with all of their heart, verse 6, at that time in history. This period of time in the future will be when the Lord Jesus Christ has returned to the Earth to set up His Kingdom.

Until the return of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, the conflict over the ownership of the land will continue and intensify. Though God has promised the Land to the Jewish people they will return to the land of their forefathers only to be almost destroyed by their enemies. This persecution will be used by the Lord to turn the Jews to their Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Remember, seven years at least before Jesus comes back to give His Chosen people, the Jewish people, their land, our Lord will shout and call all Christians up to join Him in the heavenlies at the time of the Rapture, which could happen today.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for keeping your promises to the Jews and to me as a Christian, especially your promise to call us up to be with you forever more.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Catechism question, “What is the chief end of man?” “Man’s
chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

1. Is man a
reasonable creature? Yes-Job 32:8 But
there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them
understanding.

2. Has he
greater capacities than the animals? Yes-
Job 35:10-11 But none saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the
night; Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser
than the fowls of heaven?

3. Is man
his own maker? No-Ps. 100:3 Know ye that
the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are
his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4. Is man
then his own master? No-Ps. 12:3-4 The
LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud
things: Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own:
who is lord over us?

5. Should it
be according to what each man thinks? No-Job
34:33 Should it be according to thy mind? he will recompense it, whether thou
refuse, or whether thou choose; and not I: therefore speak what thou knowest.

6. Is man
his own end and only his? No-Rm. 14:7
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

7. Is it
your business in the world to serve the flesh? No-Rm. 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to
live after the flesh.

8. Is it
your business to pursue the world? No-Jesus
said in John 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

9. Is your
happiness bound up in the things of this life? No- Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the works that are done under the
sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.

10. Will the
riches of this world make you happy? No-Lk.
12:15 Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

11. Should
you seek then the praise, applause and recognition of men to make you happy? No- Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous
of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

12. Will the
gain of the world make you happy? No-
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

13. Should
God then be your chief end? Yes- Romans
11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory
for ever. Amen.

14. Were you
made for Him? Yes- Isaiah 43:21 This people
have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

15. Were you
redeemed for Him? Yes- 1 Corinthians
6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God's.

16. Is it
your chief business to glorify God? Yes-
1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

17. Must
this be ultimately designed in all our actions? Yes- 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

18. Is God
glorified by our praises? Yes- Psalm
50:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his
conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

19. Is God
glorified by our works? Yes-Jn. 15:8
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my
disciples.

20. Is God
your chief good? Yes-Ps. 144:15 Happy is
that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is
the LORD.

21. Does all
good come from Him? Yes- James 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

22. Is all
good enjoyed in Him? Yes-Ps. 16:5 The
LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

23. Is your
chief happiness then to have God’s favor? Yes-
Psalm 30:5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

24. Is His
favor the most desirable good? Yes-
Psalm 63:3 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise
thee.

25. Should
you desire it above any good? Yes- Psalm
4:6-7 There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? LORD, lift thou up the
light of thy countenance upon us. Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than
in the time that their corn and their wine increased.

26. Should
you give all diligence to make it sure?
Yes-2 Cor. 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be
accepted of him.

27. Is
communion with God in grace the best pleasure? Yes-Ps. 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my
trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all thy works.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

May 2013The Whole Law"Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:5)

The absolute holiness of God is emphasized throughout the book of Leviticus, and this is the standard for all those created in His image. This is made clear, beyond question, when the today's verse is quoted in the New Testament: "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them" (Galatians 3:11-12).

It is not enough that a man keep most of God's laws. "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:10). "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them" (Galatians 3:10).

It is obvious, therefore, that while "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Romans 7:12), no human being (except Jesus Christ) has ever been able to keep God's perfect law, and all are therefore under God's condemnation. "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20).

The widespread delusion that a person can be saved by good works is dangerous, and many are on the road to hell smug in their supposed goodness. To keep the law, however, the Creator Himself had to become man, and He did fulfill the law as our representative before God. Then, when He died, Christ "redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). "Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested . . . by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Romans 3:21-22). HMM

Q: How is a carnivorous plant evidence against evolution?

A: Multicellular organisms' genomes typically contain a great deal of non-coding DNA (often called "junk" DNA, implying that it has little function), but not the carnivorous bladderwort. Some evolutionists have assumed that "junk" DNA is essentially "leftovers" from the evolutionary process as organisms evolved from one kind of organism into another. Non-coding DNA doesn't code for specific proteins but may have regulatory or other important functions. Molecular geneticist Dr. Georgia Purdom of Answers in Genesis, commenting on the discovery and its interpretation, said:

The observable science shows that the bladderwort plant needs very little non-coding DNA to function. Everything else claimed by the evolutionists studying bladderwort is merely assumptions about the unobservable past based on man's ideas instead of God's Word.

Get Equipped

The Code of Life DVD This DVD by Dr. Georgia Purdom will explore the fascinating world of DNA and clearly show that "junk" DNA isn't junk and that mutations and natural selection are headed in the wrong direction, corrupting and decreasing information in DNA making evolution impossible. The origin of such diversity and variability could only be the God of the Bible!

News to Know

BSA and Gay: Phase One: The Boy Scouts of America leadership council voted this week to allow openly homosexual boys to join and participate as scouts. But this is only the beginning of the demands of homosexual activists. Now the second phase of their agenda can begin: accepting gay leaders. Today's question was also a News to Know item. In case you missed it, this week we also featured the following News to Know item:Dinosaur Stampede 2.0: Earlier this month, BBC News Magazine presented an article questioning the accepted interpretation of a fossil record of a dinosaur stampede. Almost 4,000 individual tracks from about 180 dinosaurs were preserved in sandstone. How were they formed? How do they relate to the Flood?

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When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Psalm 8:3-4